Texas National Guard Troop Deployment May Be Just Symbolic

posted by KTRH’s Cliff Saunders
-
2 years ago

Texas Governor Rick Perry made waves by announcing he would deploy up to 1,000 Texas National Guard Troops to deal with the border crisis. However, some feel it’s more for show than anything else.

That's because the Governor isn't talking about what these troops will do. He is taking shots at Washington, though.

“The details of the criminal activities are so clear that we can no longer wait for Washington to secure the border. Texas is going to do it with our law enforcement and with our National Guard,” Perry told KTRH’s Sean Hannity on Fox News.

When pressed by Fox’s Brit Hume in an earlier interview, Perry said some of these troops won’t be going to the border at all.

“They’ll make sure these children are safe. They’ll process them as quickly as they can to reunite them with their families. That’s the most humanitarian thing we can do,” Perry said.

A deeper look shows these troops won't have the authority to force anyone back and can't enforce immigration laws. JoAnn Fleming of Grassroots America says they'll be doing other things.

“Some of them will be doing paperwork, taking the place of border patrol agents so that they can get out there and do the drug and trafficking interdiction,” Fleming explained.

But Fleming said it doesn’t look like they will be playing a large role in securing the border.

“Here’s the bottom line. Nobody is repelling anybody. Nobody is turning back anybody at the border,” she said.

And they could get even more help. Jim Gilchrist, who founded the Minuteman Project, told Matt Patrick on KPRC AM 950 they are getting ready to lend a hand.

“Instead of covering 23 miles in Arizona it will cover 2,000 miles from San Diego, CA to Brownsville, Texas,” Gilchrist said.

But it's such a large project they won’t be ready to mobilize until next May.